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Ford posts pre-tax profit of $2.1bn in first-quarter

Ford Motor Company has posted a pre-tax profit of $2.1bn (£1.4bn) for the first-quarter of 2013, driven by profit in North America.

The US car giant made a loss of $462m in Europe, which is more than triple what the company lost in first-quarter of 2012, due to unfavourable market factors, and restructuring costs related to the transformation plan for its European business.

The company expects to lose $2bn in Europe over the whole of 2013 as the outlook of the business environment in the continent remains uncertain.

Daimler and Volkswagen have seen big falls in profits due to a slump in European car sales.

The company’s first-quarter profits were slightly lower than the $2.3bn it made in the same period last year. But in North America pre-tax profit increased from $2.1bn to $2.4bn, the company’s highest since it started reporting North America separately in 2000.

North American revenues also grew by 20 per cent as economic recovery in the US was encouraging demand for some of its high-end vehicles, including larger pickup trucks.

Sales in Europe of all carmakers fell nearly 10 per cent in March 2012, the 18th consecutive monthly decline.